Reporter Paul Clarke takes a look at the key talking points after England’s Rugby League World Cup final defeat to Australia in Brisbane. England fell to a 6-0 loss thanks to a try from Boyd Cordner and a conversion from Cameron Smith.

First-half missed chances

England were hanging on at points in the first half as Australia controlled field position and built pressure but Wayne Bennett’s men had their chances.

After spreading the ball wide right there was a chance for Jermaine McGillvary to go one on one with Billy Slater but Kallum Watkins held onto the ball before offloading in the tackle.

It was a missed opportunity and there was another when Kevin Brown decided to produce a cut-out pass for Ryan Hall but the half-back gave the left winger no space. This play summed up England’s lack of smarts as they trailed 6-0 at the break.

Second-half poor execution and errors

England continued their strong defence and even enjoyed more of the ball in the second period, but when they had good field position they enviably lost their way.

Examples of this were the fact that Luke Gale kicked twice with his left foot in the second half and Thomas Burgess also came up with two knock-ons deep in enemy territory in the final quarter.

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Halves issue

Gale provided a strong deep kicking game but close to the Australian line, he struggled and took some poor options.

Brown was ineffective overall and eventually taken off in the second period as Gareth Widdop moved into the halves and Jonny Lomax came on at full-back.

Widdop managed to force a drop-out with a neat kick after a mazy run but also passed into touch near the Australian line. Australia were better at building pressure and in the end it was the difference.

ENGLAND LACKED EXECUTION: Luke Gale worked hard but his side struggled in attack. (Image: SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ)

Done the country proud

But with all the issues that England had during the game, they took it right down to the wire, something which hasn’t been done against the Aussies since 2014.

The forwards were fantastic with and without the ball and also outside backs such as Jermaine McGillvary, Ryan and Kallum Watkins shone brightly.

As a match it summed up the sport perfectly as well. Hard, gritty, honest and brutal. Australian captain Smith spoke after the game about it being one of the toughest contests of his career and that’s saying something considering his experience.

Whilst it was certainly a missed chance for England they did the country proud.

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That crucial ankle tap

If there was one moment that summed up how close England got to winning it was Watkins’ break in the second period.

England shipped the ball wide right and Watkins managed to breach the Australian defence before hitting the deck after Josh Dugan’s ankle tap.

Watkins seemed clear but it was a fantastic dive from Dugan to halt Watkins. The England centre would have been two or even three on one with full-back Billy Slater at that point with Elliott Whitehead on his inside and McGillvary outside, something which highlights that it was the defining moment of another defeat for England against Australia.